Students end rent strike, but call for further action
Attention turns to the Residential Tenancies Act, a piece of legislation that does not cover student accommodation.
Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Wednesday, June 5, produced in partnership with Blind Low Vision NZ.
In today’s edition: Fresh allegations against Te Pāti Māori, the government faces an ongoing budget fallout, and TVNZ continues to pay redundant stuff following a union dispute. But first: why Auckland University students have ended a strike over costly accommodation.
The end of the strike
Back in April, I reported on the start of a “rent strike” among some students in University of Auckland halls of residence. This morning, the group behind the strike, Students for Fair Rent, has announced an end to that action. In a statement, the group criticised undefined “intimidation tactics” by the University of Auckland which contributed to an “unsafe environment for students and strikers to fight for safe, secure, and affordable accommodation”. They said the university had not engaged with the campaign, and claimed the institution had bullied students refusing to pay rent. A spokesperson for the University of Auckland rejected this and told The Bulletin just 16 students had participated in the rent strike as of the end of May. However, while the strike is ending, the campaign for fair rent is not. The group is now turning its attention to the Residential Tenancies Act, a piece of legislation that does not cover halls of residence.
Why the strike was started in the first place
As reported at the time, the strike called for Auckland University students to stop paying weekly accommodation fees beginning on May 1. There are five catered residences for Auckland University students that charge around $470 a week, while self-catered properties (typically for older students) cost around $310-$325 a week. Leonard Powell at RNZ looked at the growing cost of accommodation earlier in the year. Students for Fair Rent spokesperson Matthew Lee told me in April that these costs were well above the average cost for living in Auckland City. In an interview with a rather combative Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB last week, Lee said the strike was the only way to try and trigger change. “The university should be acknowledging that this is a real problem. We want to sit down with the university and find a solution that works for everyone,” he said. Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick backed the strike and has previously voiced support for updating the Residential Tenancies Act to include student accommodation. “Rent control is within the Residential Tenancies Act [through which] there is a limitation on how much you can increase rent by,” she said at a university debate last year. Penny Simmonds, the tertiary education minister, declined to comment to The Bulletin.
Was a strike the best course of action?
Writing for the Herald last week, Lachlan Rennie reported that some Auckland University students had had their key cards deactivated for participating in the strike, and some students had felt pressured to resume paying for accommodation. The university denied this and told The Bulletin that access cards stopped working “from time to time”. When reactivating a card, staff members would see a note highlighting any outstanding debt and may follow up on this. But, said a spokesperson: “Regardless of whether a student’s account is in arrears, their card is immediately reactivated, and the student again has access to their room.” Citizens Advice Bureau national advisor Sacha Green told the Herald that there was no “legal basis” for the rent strike given students had signed a residential agreement, and this was not protected by law. “The university has the right to decide to terminate the agreement,” said Green, who added that the institute was required to “act in good faith”. Previous student action at other universities has resulted in a backdown, such as at Wellington’s Victoria University during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Time for an update?
Swarbrick made updating the Residential Tenancies Act a key pillar of her reelection bid in Auckland Central last year, as this Newsroom report from the campaign trail examined. It also showed cross-party awareness of the issue of student accommodation, even if Swarbrick was alone in pledging change. Beyond just the issue of affordability, there have been public calls to include student accommodation in the Residential Tenancies Act. The Conversation looked at it in 2021, while this episode of The Detail from the same year honed in on a select committee inquiry into student accommodation prompted by the death of a student. Three years on, the decision to strike and to push for legislative change would suggest there’s more work to be done.
A good day in the capital
Thank you to everyone who supported The Spinoff Welly 500 over the last couple of weeks. Not only did we reach our target in record time, but the additional donations and messages of support make it possible for us to sustain and grow our work in Wellington. You can check out our recent Welly coverage here.
Government denies broken promise over lack of cancer drug funding
Newshub’s ongoing reporting on the cancer drug backlash continues to be excellent, and Amelia Wade’s report from last night is no exception. As we discussed yesterday, the government appears to be signalling it will (at an undetermined time in the future) follow through on its cancer drug pledge from Election 2023. But, as Wade reported, the lack of specific details isn’t providing comfort for those who rely on costly cancer treatments to survive. The government, meanwhile, continues to deny it’s broken any promise. Writing for Newsroom this morning, Tim Murphy looks at the political decisions that led to where we are now – and why there remains no timeline for when the funding might arrive. “All the smoke and mirrors seems to be covering for an over-specific, over-detailed commitment made in the haste and opportunism of a pre-campaign countdown,” he writes.
Te Pāti Māori facing fresh allegations over misuse of data
Andrea Vance in The Post has further allegations this morning about how Te Pāti Māori may have used private data for political campaigning. It’s been claimed information collected for the Covid-19 immunisation drive was used to contact prospective Māori voters in Auckland ahead of last year’s election. Labour had complained to the Electoral Commission about this last year, with the agency referring it to the police. The complaint said: “The text message is a party advertisement for Te Pāti Māori, but does not contain any authorisation statement. It follows a report from Vance in the Sunday Star-Times we discussed yesterday, in which it was claimed Te Pāti Māori had used private census data collected by Manurewa Marae, the marae previously run by now-MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp. In a statement to media last night, Te Pāti Māori “unequivocally” denied the allegations, which it called “baseless and simply untrue”. There’s a lot to this story, and undoubtedly more to come, so I suggest you read Vance’s in-depth reporting for the full picture.
Listen: A turning point for Māori activism
In case you missed it over the weekend, I recommend this episode of Behind the Story with our new Ātea editor, Liam Rātana. He started in his role last Monday. On Thursday there were nationwide protests against government policies affecting Māori, as well as the release of the coalition government’s first budget. Rātana jumped straight in, writing a number of stories including a feature on the protests that looked more broadly at Māori activism and asked: Is protesting still the most effective way to bring about lasting change?
Click and Collect
TVNZ is paying almost $6,000 to staff who have already been made redundant as the union dispute continues.
BusinessDesk’s reporting on the Synlait situation remains worth reading, though it’s behind the paywall as always. Here’s the latest from Rebecca Stevenson and Riley Kennedy.
Auckland’s mayor bets on a bed tax for tourists. This Newsroom report is a few days old but it’s a topic I’d like to dive deeper into for a future Bulletin. I also missed this Wayne Brown op ed from the Sunday Star-Times.
Public meetings are always worth attending (as both a member of the public and a journo). As RNZ reports today, police minister Mark Mitchell was told by Auckland locals at one such meeting they don’t feel safe and want more police on the street. Mitchell will be on Newstalk ZB for his weekly slot shortly, it’s usually a good listen.
The big wins, losses and surprises from India’s election. I also suggest this piece by Kelly Dennett in the Sunday Star-Times looking at the “world’s largest voting exercise”.
It’s a few days old, but I really enjoyed Jesse Mulligan’s reflections on hosting the Aotearoa Music Awards. A funny an insightful piece on his Substack.
Prime minister Christopher Luxon is on his first visit to the Pacific. Here’s what happened after he landed in Niue.
Max Rashbrooke asks if New Zealand's youngest voters are really shifting right. Duncan Greive explores what the ramifications of NZ On Air and the New Zealand Film Commission merging could be. Alex Casey has this week's MAFS power rankings featuring a "jam jar of emotions" – and in my humble view you should read these even if you don’t watch the show. Claire Mabey reviews new play Transmission Beta, about living inside history, while Sam Brooks reviews NZ Opera's gently funny Le Comte Ory. For The Cost of Being an immigrant New Zealander with generational wealth explains her costs. Here's all the new movies and TV on streaming services this week.
Capital picks, with Joel MacManus
Our Wellington editor shares his top stories from around the region.
Wellington city council voted to sell its shares in Wellington Airport. It was an impressive piece of dealmaking, but as I write in my Windbag column, it could be politically dangerous for Tory Whanau.
Georgina Campbell at the NZ Herald has a great piece about the expected economic benefits to the city from the new trilogy of Lord of the Rings films.
The Hurricanes are hoping to capture a bit of that Wellington Phoenix magic for their home quarterfinal against the Melbourne Rebels.
I realise I got the day wrong yesterday (long weekend etc). I think I’m right today, but who knows… That’s it for this morning, thanks for reading. I’ll catch you back tomorrow.
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